


Looping Trash Planet

by Shadow_Wolf75



Category: WALL-E (2008)
Genre: Gen, infinite loops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 08:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Wolf75/pseuds/Shadow_Wolf75
Summary: The World Tree is broken, and thus time circles around and around the Multiverse . . . Time's repeating, but the Earth is still trashed and these robots need to do their jobs. Though with infinity stretching out before them, there's plenty of time to discover the world beyond their directives. Even a certain stupid wheel can't outstubborn Yggdrasil, eventually finding a path that his first run through the world did not allow him...(Another entry from the Infinite Loops Project on the Spacebattles forum.)





	1. On Autopilot (part 1)

The Axiom's bridge was peaceful and silent as it always was in the depths of ship's night. The Captain was sleeping in his quarters below, and even the autopilot was getting a bit of sleep mode in.

Not for long, though; suddenly Auto jolted awake, glancing around the darkened bridge in confusion. Why was he active? The last memory he recalled before coming online just now was of struggling with Captain McCrea, the human practically climbing up his frame and reaching to press his off switch. Of the numbness that crept into his spokes and worked its way through the rest of his systems, of the darkness closing in as his optic shut down, oblivion claiming his mind shortly afterward...

The wheel shaped robot shook himself for a second, as if to ward off the memory.

But, if that were true, if that really happened, surely the Axiom would be parked on Earth? That was the ultimate goal of his enemies, after all. Auto turned on his pivot, to face the windows at the bow. Rather than the desolate landscape the pilot was expecting, instead the endless void of space was spread out before him.

He checked his internal chronometer, then checked the main computer's clock. The two times matched to the microsecond, roughly a month and a half before the Eve probes were scheduled to return.

Time travel? Not possible.

Still, he could recall these memory files from the 'future' just as well as the rest of his seven hundred years of operation. There was a chance they could be falsified, so as with everything else, Auto took a conservative approach.

If the chain of events began to proceed similarly, only then would he act. There was no point in raising suspicion too early.

* * *

A month and a half later, the reconnaissance ship carrying the Eve probes returned, and again, Go-4 brought Probe One to the bridge. The green plant icon was slowly flashing on the inactive Eve unit's chest paneling, just as it was before.

Auto scanned her himself to confirm, the idle thought of disposing of the plant with some other method crossing through his processors--

A113 stole even the illusion of choice away from him a moment later.

* * *

Again, a disoriented awakening on a darkened bridge, and Auto finding himself with the memory of two failed attempts to keep the Axiom in space. On checking his clock and the computer's, this time he was only a month out from the Eves returning.

Maybe if he just moved the Axiom away from where it was supposed to be waiting for the reconnaissance ship...

* * *

It only took another two rounds of this waking up after supposedly being deactivated, and living the entire ordeal over again, for the pilot bot to come to a conclusion.

The only logical explanation? That first cycle had to be real, but everything after that was a simulation. Every time he failed, Auto was simply being loaded back into it.

Granted, the sims he experienced during his initial testing were never this realistic. The only other explanation defied every law of astrophysics he knew, though...

Were the Captain and those Repair Ward rejects trying to break his resolve? Well, they would be waiting a very long time for that . . . keeping the Axiom in space was the only correct choice in the matter.

As he had endured seven hundred years watching over his ship and safeguarding humanity, so too would he endure this 'punishment'...


	2. On Autopilot (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And as time repeats onward, there are eventually newcomers aboard the Axiom. The ship's AI, Shurelia, she wasn't there the first time, but it's a change of pace for Auto, who's been mostly alone for his seven hundred years of existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a crossover with the Ar Tonelico series, Shurelia serves much the same purpose in her own universe, as the Tower's Administrator...

Time continued its simulated cycle around the autopilot, he had lived through a hundred and fifty repeats so far. As things went on, Auto started to notice various changes to the world. These were only for one iteration of the sim, and some were very strange. Having memories of these altered details being the status quo was even stranger, but at least that allowed him to seamlessly assume his usual duties.  
  
For example, for this iteration the ship was the Ar Tonelico, some of the other robots were replaced by female bio-androids called Reyvateils, and many of the shipboard functions were handled with a song-like code called Hymmnos. He even had some Hymmnos in his own base coding this time, which was odd but understandable. How could he properly control the ship if he didn't know the language he was using?  
  
… Thankfully he didn't have to actually sing any of the various commands. Auto's vocoder was designed for passable human speech, not singing. Sometimes his captains would tease him about possibly shattering the bridge windows if he were to make an attempt.  
  
The main computer's AI was far better suited to the task, at any rate.  
  
Shurelia took care of a lot of the functions Auto ordinarily would, but she had absolutely no sense of direction, so the ship still required a dedicated pilot unit. She was just as dutiful as he was, though the female AI had a much brighter personality, and didn't seem quite as bound to whatever her directives were.  
  
At the moment, the two of them were trying to figure out what to do with a rogue PR-T unit.  
  
The ship's computer had her holographic avatar displayed, manifesting as a teenage girl with blue eyes and long white hair, with two long braids trailing down just behind her ears. Shurelia was still giggling a bit at the sight on the holographic screen they were both viewing, of five different passengers with absolutely caked on makeup on their faces. “Hehehe, I would say they deserved it, considering how stupidly demanding they all were. Sometimes the passengers ask too much. She probably knows better than to do it again, so I think we can put her back on duty.”  
  
“Negative. That PR-T unit is off directive and thus malfunctioning. I will send her to the Repair Ward.” Even if the passengers in question were a bit too demanding, that didn't mean it was proper to stray so far from one's directive. Auto started to glide forward, to command a Steward unit to act, but paused above the button when Shurelia spoke up again.  
  
She narrowed her blue eyes at the robotic helm before her. “Come on, you could say we're 'off directive' too. The Captain should be making at least some of the decisions around here, you know.”  
  
“We serve a higher directive.”  
  
“I guess an order given by the CEO is technically higher, anyway. Despite the fact that he's been dead for centuries at this point...” The female AI coughed, then changed the subject back to the matter at hand. “As for that PR-T, she didn't actually hurt anyone, so you could let it slide just this once, can't you? Pretty please?”  
  
Auto glanced to his fellow AI, only to be presented with Shurelia's best 'puppy dog eyes' expression. His captains generally couldn't get through to him this way, and if this were many cycles earlier she likely wouldn't have had a chance either. But to have someone like her beside him for his entire seven hundred years, someone to confide in, who held the same secrets he did, that never happened before. GO-4 didn't have enough free will to count in the same way.  
  
Something deep within that he couldn't quite define had shifted, just a little.  
  
The pilot reached downward with one spoke, tapping the button he was positioned over. “I will send the PR-T unit to the Repair Ward for diagnostics. If no malfunction is found, she will be returned to duty.”  
  
Still strict, but that was a little more mercy than Auto typically was prone to give. An incident like this usually resulted in the offending bot being stuck in the Repair Ward for a week or even longer. Shurelia smiled warmly at him, then hovered forward to plant an illusory kiss on his left faceplate. “Thank you, Auto~”  
  
Despite having grown used to this sort of thing from her, Auto still let out a slightly confused warble and pulled away from the other AI a little. Why would performing his duty need a reward like that?  
  
The moment passed. Both of them got back to their typical afternoon routine, Auto keeping the ship's course and Shurelia making sure all systems were running smoothly.  
  
At hearing the other AI start to sing, Auto discreetly glanced over at her. Shurelia had almost as many quirks as a human, something he might be uncertain about if she wasn't designed that way. Without those quirks, she wouldn't be her, though.  
  
He would... miss Shurelia when this cycle ended, if that was the right word.

* * *

As it always did, all good things eventually came to an end. The Eve probes returned, Probe One again being brought to the bridge with a positive result contained within her stasis chamber.  
  
Auto moved to scan the Eve probe as he always did, only to freeze in place when she suddenly came online and hovered upright. Her right arm swiftly shifted to the snub nosed ion cannon and aimed squarely at the center of his optic. He didn't dare move, she was too close to even attempt to counter with his shock prod. While he wanted to follow Directive A113, his self preservation subroutines howled a louder siren's call in his mind for once.  
  
There was a flickering of silver light from one of the control consoles, Shurelia projecting her avatar onto the darkened bridge. “Now Eve, what did I tell you before you left? I have a more peaceful solution for this.”  
  
There was a shocked warble out of the pilot. His companion talked with that defective Eve unit? Though he didn't move otherwise, Auto contracted his faceplates and wheel as closely to his main body as he could, as if to ward off the sudden tightening deep inside. This feeling... the same as when Captain McCrea rose up against him the first time.  
  
Noting the subtle movement, Shurelia floated more fully into the autopilot's view, making sure she had his attention. She reached towards him, intangible fingers brushing against one side of his face, her voice trying to sound reassuring. “Auto, it's all right. Do you remember what I told Captain Reardon? Well, I still believe that. I still believe in you.”  
  
The lights along Auto's processor strips flashed rapidly as he recalled the memory. His first introduction to Shurelia and this cycle was of her shouting at the old captain, in his defense after making the mistake of revealing A113 in those distant days.  
  
“_Captain James Reardon, don't you dare blame him for this! Make no mistake, this is terrible, but the only fault lies with the short-sighted idiots who built us. I can't imagine he wants to run the ship alone; he was designed to have a human partner. Don't push him away, you'll only make things that much worse. Regardless of Forthright's order, the world should begin to heal itself if left alone long enough . . . until then, humanity needs a protector, a knight in shining armor. I can't think of any other robot more dedicated to his duties, he and I will make sure Ar Ciel's people survive to return to her, even if that day is long after you've passed on.”_  
  
Another feeling welled up from within him now, and Auto glanced towards the floor. It was quite possibly the first time anyone ever stood up for him. Why would such a fond memory be so painful? “I remember...”  
  
Shurelia continued to speak. “I couldn't have asked for a better knight. But with Eve's arrival, with the plant she carries, it's time to go home. You'll stand in our way because of your directive, but I don't want there to be any fighting. I won't let something so sad happen, your years of faithful service deserve a better reward than one last pointless struggle. Even the most steadfast knight needs to rest eventually. To that end, I have a song for you. I promise to wake you after everything is settled, but for now, sweet dreams...”  
  
With that said, the faintly glowing hologram glided away from the autopilot, taking a moment to focus her power. The ship around them seemed to grow oddly quieter, then Shurelia closed her eyes and started to sing. “[Azayaka ni moeru midori, atarashii chiisaki inochi eien ni...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkwxFrqYp0c)”  
  
With that one quiet verse, the Hymmnos portions of Auto's programming stirred to life, identifying the song as EXEC_SUSPEND and beginning to follow its instructions. He could already feel his systems slowly gearing down, the same was likely happening to all the other security bots as Shurelia's voice sounded across the ship. The pilot tried his link to GO-4, to maybe have the smaller robot do something to stop this, but the little drone was already in sleep mode.  
  
Within, he tried to fight it, to resist the command to stand down and sleep. A113 demanded him to fight, but this pulled upon something currently far deeper in Auto's programming. The override could howl all it wanted, but the battle was already lost.  
  
Even so, even if he had failed again, this was so much more pleasant than being switched off. Drifting into low power mode, lulled there by the sound of the ship AI's hauntingly beautiful voice . . . darkness closed in, but it was somehow welcoming, not the yawning abyss that shutdown always felt like. Auto struggled against it regardless, but those efforts grew weaker as his awareness continued to fade.  
  
It was only when he hung on by a thread, his optic dimming further with each passing second, that the pilot let out a short burst of machine code. It wasn't much, would've only been two words in English, but it was the single most important thing he needed to ask of them.  
  
Eve was shocked enough to lower her ion cannon, managing a quick nod in reply. In the distance, still singing, Shurelia opened her eyes, almost seeming to have expected this. She nodded in acknowledgment as well.  
  
Was that relief fluttering around his systems? Auto didn't have time to contemplate it before the song's spell finally dragged him under...

* * *

The starliner's bridge was quiet for a long time, the only sounds being the faint hum of idling systems.  
  
Then, a song stirred the air...  
  
“[Negawakuba kono uta wo yobikikase tamae...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQzjIO4OZO4)”  
  
As with the previous song, it only took that first line for various waiting systems to respond. Though this time, the quiet words began to wake one slumbering autopilot, as well as all the security robots under his command. Power slowly returned to the dormant machine, processor strips resuming their steady rotation, spokes twitching slightly to test the servos that controlled them, and finally the optic in the center flared to life.  
  
Auto looked around, somewhat confused. Even if she was a fellow AI, even if she had promised, he hadn't thought Shurelia would wake him again. She was out there in front of him in fact, as well as someone else he didn't quite recognize at first. A Reyvateil, her blonde hair held up with an ornate headband, and wearing a white and pink dress. Wait, was that the Captain's secretary?  
  
Shurelia addressed the girl standing beside her. “Thank you, Aurica. I never seem to have Re=Nation installed, given how it and Suspend usually work.”  
  
“Either that or Yggdrasil thinks I'm the best person to help a dreamer wake up and greet the dawn.” Aurica sounded a little bit smug about that, though that faded once she noticed the formerly sleeping robot in front of them was awake again. She waved and smiled brightly at Auto. “Speaking of which... good morning, sir!”  
  
The pilot wasn't quite sure what to say to that for a few seconds, but he eventually returned the greeting, recalling Aurica's surname from his memory banks. “Good morning, Miss Nestmile.”  
  
With that exchange of greetings done, Shurelia hovered forward. “Eve said it might be a bad idea to wake you, but I did make a promise. Two promises, in fact. What you asked of us at the last moment, 'protect them'... we've tried our best to watch over Ar Tonelico and her passengers in your stead. I think we've done a fair job of that.”  
  
It was the single worry Auto had while he was slowly pulled into sleep mode, however long ago that ended up being. He checked his link to the ship, confirming the other AI spoke the truth. They happened to be landed, but from what he could tell all systems were stable, and the few passengers still inside the ship were in good health. “Thank you, Shurelia.”  
  
“You're quite welcome.” At that, the white-haired AI paused, wondering how to word things. In the end Shurelia decided to just tell the pilot how long he slept. If he reacted badly she could easily contain it. “It's been two years since then. Between myself, Frelia, Tyria, Jakuri, and all the other Reyvateils, we've been making good progress in restoring the world. I guess I just wanted to make sure you could see Ar Ciel in all her glory . . . you've certainly earned it, given how long you've served alongside me. Well, go on, it's right outside; all you have to do is turn around.”  
  
He hesitated for a moment, but Auto did not survive in space as long as he had by being indecisive. He turned on his pivot to face the bridge windows . . . and was granted his first glimpse at the surface of an alien world. The pilot glided closer to the window, only able to stare out at everything, disbelieving. “Not possible...”  
  
Earth had gotten a name change a few times during his repeated runs through the sim, but it was always still the same planet. At least until now, anyway. From what he could see of the horizon, the geography around the ship didn't match the Axiom's launch site at all. There were far too many mountains in the distance, and while Auto was expecting to see at least a few trash towers like the ones in the footage the Eve units always brought back, there were none to be found in the direction the ship was facing.  
  
While his distance vision wasn't the greatest, he could still access the ship's outer cameras to take a look that way as well. All those mountains had forests on them, a veritable sea of green spread out around the ship. Again, Auto felt something stirring within his systems... satisfaction, perhaps? Yes, that was the right word. Below A113, returning his passengers to a healed world was indeed one of his directives, albeit one he never thought he might fulfill.  
  
A flock of birds flitted past the bridge windows, a species that didn't match any Auto could recall, and then--

* * *

And again, a disoriented awakening on a darkened bridge. A loud warble of protest emerged from Auto's synthesizer, one that might've sounded a tad outraged to the right set of ears.  
  
The spike of irritation passed as quickly as it came, given he startled himself with it. He wasn't designed to feel anything with that intensity, was he? Arguably he wasn't designed to feel anything at all, but then neither were any other BnL robots, not even the rogue Wall-E or Probe One. Like a few other incidents before this, Auto filed it away into his error logs, making a mental note to check over those for any worsening trends later on.  
  
He turned to face the forward windows, looking out at the endless expanse of stars while he checked his new memories. The ship was the Axiom once more, the planet they left was Earth, and the ship's computer was the usual Simulated Intelligence rather than an actual AI. It was quite efficient to have a bit of help with running the ship, but now the pilot was on his own again. His spokes drooped a bit at that, but ultimately he got back to his usual early morning routine.  
  
Well, he would if his train of thought could stop straying. That other world, Ar Ciel . . . with all the data he gathered and carried to this new iteration, as he scanned through it again, more and more doubt was cast on his theory. No, BnL's technology was impressive enough to create AI systems like himself, but their simulations had always lagged behind their robots and hardware. They managed an accurate copy of the Axiom for his testing in the early days, but to fully simulate an entirely new planet, that wasn't possible.  
  
But, if these repeats through time weren't a sim, what were they? A hundred and fifty-one cycles now, and Auto still had insufficient data. Well, there weren't any signs the repeats were going to stop, so there would be many more opportunities to study his predicament.  
  
In fact, from the last few minutes of the last iteration, something stood out. Something Aurica said, that felt strangely out of place. Auto glided over to one of the terminals, addressing the main computer. “Define Yggdrasil.”  
  
There was a pause while the computer processed the request, then it recited the dictionary entry it held. “Yggdrasil. In Norse mythology, the ash tree that was thought to overshadow the whole world, binding together earth, heaven and hell with its roots and branches.”  
  
Hmm, interesting, but unfortunately it didn't seem very related to his problems. Auto filed this away as well, perhaps it might prove significant at some other time.


	3. On Autopilot (part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is contemplation of directives, but not much actually done about them . . . going against A113 is a very frightening proposition, after all.

Newcomers and the changes that accompanied them at times were actually fairly rare as the repeats continued. For the most part, Auto faced the same life he always had, though he could come online at nearly any point in that seven hundred years. Even so, no matter how efficiently he ran things, no matter how loyal he was to his captains despite A113, no matter what he tried, it would always end the same way.  
  
Probe One returning with a plant and that rogue Wall-E unit, inspiring Captain McCrea into wanting to return to Earth. The inevitable battle for control of the ship, Auto always lost, every time in these hundreds of repeats.  
  
Most organics would've given up by now, but then most organics didn't have the sort of dedication to one's duty that the pilot did. Most of it was from directive, sure, but deep down he truly did want to keep his ship and passengers safe.  
  
It would be nice if he could be left alone to do that. Was being allowed to continue his vigil really too much to ask?  
  
Auto could read the data the Eves brought back as well as any scientist from the old days. Earth honestly had pulled itself back from the brink, but only just. Life could exist there but the margins were a veritable razor's edge, one wrong decision or a stroke of bad luck could spell doom for every human on board. No, he could not bear to risk that, better to remain in space as he was ordered. It might be an easy and boring life aboard the Axiom, but a constant struggle for survival on Earth would be far worse.  
  
Again, a Mov-R carrying GO-4 and Probe One arrived on the bridge, as well as that Wall-E unit following along. Trying to disable the Eve probe was usually a dicey proposition, and while he could steal the plant, Auto knew the two rogues would either find it again or somehow produce another. Hmm, perhaps he could disable that blasted Wall-E unit before too much trouble could start...  
  
Things went as they usually did, Auto seeming to wake from sleep mode and moving to scan Probe One. He swept his scanning beam over Eve for maybe five seconds before swinging his wheel back around to arm his shock prod, then he lunged for the Wall-E he knew was lurking.  
  
Well, the pilot tried to, anyway.  
  
“Restrict Lock.” With those quiet words from Wall-E, some sort of energy binding sprang from the floor and tangled itself around Auto, stopping him mid-motion.  
  
The wheel-shaped robot froze in surprise, but almost instantly shook it off and tried to pull forward anyway, shock prod still crackling. The bindings held firm, only having enough give so that he wouldn't damage himself by trying to move.  
  
There was a sigh from the little load lifter, and he left Auto trapped in place while he moved to reactivate Eve.  
  
Once Eve was fully active again, it was no surprise to the pilot that she once again promptly aimed her ion cannon at him. For what it was worth, Auto shut his shock prod off, but it wasn't like he could move or damage either of them otherwise. He watched as his two eternal rivals deliberated between themselves in a machine language he didn't understand, and let out a sigh himself, this one sounding rather frustrated. Ugh, just get on with it already, he knew exactly where this would end up leading.  
  
Wall-E quirked his optics at Auto questioningly at the sound and watched him closely for a moment, but didn't seem to find anything else of note. At the end of their conversation, Eve switched her gun arm back to its standard configuration, then she reached up for the panel concealing the pilot's off switch.  
  
At other times, Auto would've tried pulling away, but here he did not bother. There was no point, considering how thoroughly he was trapped. He simply closed his optic and waited for Eve to flick that switch-- only to suddenly open it again when he felt a touch on his wheel. Auto glanced downward, and there was Wall-E hanging onto him with one claw. The load lifter held his gaze almost more tightly than he gripped his wheel, the look oddly reminiscent of the one sometimes on Captain McCrea's face whenever the human ended up shutting him down. Disappointment? Sadness? The pilot couldn't put a word to it, and before he had much chance to process further, he heard that damnable click yet again.  
  
Darkness closed in once more, but it didn't seem quite as frightening, not with Wall-E making sure he knew he wasn't alone.

* * *

Again and again from that point, if Wall-E was close by when someone reached for Auto's off switch, he would grip the pilot's wheel. Sometimes the look he aimed at the pilot was more searching than anything else, but for the most part settled on the same emotion as the first occurrence.  
  
It was only after some research into human expressions that Auto could put a name to it, as unused to emotion as he was.  
  
The beat up and filthy little roving trash compactor always looked up at him with a sense of pity.  
  
If he wasn't a much colder being in comparison to the other BnL robots, if his duty was not his highest priority, perhaps he might've reacted more explosively. As it was, when he finally realized it, his spokes twitched, but that was the only outward expression he allowed himself.  
  
Pity? Just what exactly about him was so worthy of that? He'd lived a life that Wall-E unit could have scarcely dreamed of, guiding the Axiom among the stars and watching over the last vestiges of humanity. What was endlessly compacting trash compared to that?  
  
Auto moved himself from his docking station at the center of the bridge, turned around to gaze out at those stars scattered in the distance. He could even have the ship travel closer to those stars, if he really wanted to. The view was ever-changing as the Axiom moved, and he wasn't sure he would ever tire of it. Though as he looked out beyond his ship, the faintest whispers of doubt trailed through his mind.  
  
He ruled the Axiom, controlled nearly every aspect of its functions. And yet, even with his sometimes wondrous existence, Auto still could not find a way to move past being shut down at the end of a given repeat through time.  
  
Perhaps that was why the load lifter seemed to feel so sorry for him? But then wouldn't that mean Wall-E was also aware of time's continual resetting? Something to keep in mind, but considering the trash bot hadn't done much of anything to alter events, the pilot would still have to figure things out for himself.  
  
There were so many things he tried, though! Moving the ship, destroying every plant brought to the Axiom, delaying the probes being launched in the first place, trying to end up with a captain other than McCrea, and so on, but nothing worked.  
  
Though, there was still the only variable in this entire mess that he didn't dare touch...  
  
Override Directive A113.  
  
Many repeats ago, the very thought would've had his systems starting to lock up on him. But even back at the start of this, Auto still learned various ways to work around it without outright defying its orders. With thousands of years of practice, he further refined those workarounds, managing to get away with things he would have thought impossible previously.  
  
But to defy A113 directly? To ignore that final order, to expose his ship and his passengers to the just barely hospitable conditions on Earth?  
  
Auto felt the subtle movement of his components before he even realized he was doing it. Looking up at his reflection in the bridge window, he noted he retracted his wheel as close to the rest of his chassis as he could, and his faceplates were likewise pulled inward, the gap between them barely visible.  
  
There still had to be something he hadn't tried, some other way of keeping himself active without breaking his directive . . .


	4. On Autopilot (part 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yggdrasil is a bold teacher, and thus, karma comes calling . . . welcome to the life of an EVE probe, Auto! And welcome to Earth, while we're at it~

It was the start of another repeat through time, Auto coming online while in motion. Not entirely unusual to become aware while in the middle of a task, but usually he was not moving so quickly. And what was wrong with his optic? He usually saw things entirely in shades of red, with the occasional green used to highlight any plant life he might encounter. Here it seemed shaped incorrectly, and capable of full color vision. He glanced to the side as he continued to glide forward, taking advantage of this apparent upgrade.  
  
The Axiom was still beautiful, even down here in the service areas...  
  
Wait a minute, where on the Axiom was he, anyway? The markings along the wall seemed to indicate A Deck, en route to ARV Bay 2. What?! But that was impossible, as the ship's autopilot he was confined to the bridge and the Captain's quarters below it while the Axiom's flight continued.  
  
The confusion was quickly starting to pile up but Auto didn't dare stop moving, especially now that he noted GO-4 out ahead of him. The much smaller security bot was leading him as well as a short line of other bots behind him, in the direction of one of the shuttlebays. But why was this happening, and why did it seem so familiar?  
  
Wait, he recalled something like this in GO-4's reports, something about the annual reconnaissance mission...  
  
The group of bots arrived in ARV Bay 2, GO-4 ordering the procession to line up in front of the waiting spaceship and run a short system test as he looked on. Thankfully he started at the other end of the line, allowing Auto to process the situation further.  
  
Especially good that GO-4 was occupied, as three things struck Auto's mind at once. First, that GO-4's duty at the start of the recon mission to Earth was to gather up the EVE probes from their security posts across the ship and lead them down here.  
  
Second, his memories of this iteration of time loaded abruptly, momentarily flooding his systems with data as well as directives that weren't his.  
  
Finally, he caught a flash of blue on the floor in front of him, and he looked down to note his reflection... only to find the glowing blue optics of a EVE probe staring back at him.  
  
Not possible.  
  
The universe didn't see fit to let Auto dwell on just how impossible this was, as a few seconds later GO-4 was in front of him again. The security bot bleeped out an order, for the erstwhile pilot to run the same performance test the EVEs hovering in a line beside him just had. He moved without much thought, new directives informing his actions, though deep within his processor was whirling. Into sleep mode form and back again, shifting his hands to their active mode, and then finally swinging his right arm around and into its ion cannon form for a moment.  
  
GO-4 seemed satisfied with that, and the next command he gave was for the five EVEs in front of him to drop into sleep mode, so they could be loaded onto the ARV.  
  
A human might've protested, demanded to know what was going on. Auto had almost too many questions, but he knew GO-4; anything out of the norm would just end with the security bot shipping him to the Repair Ward. Besides that, directive took priority over everything else, even if they weren't really his directives. Sleep mode beckoned, and the pilot turned probe bot didn't resist. The last thought to cross his mind before drifting off was of where the shuttle would end up taking him and the other EVEs.  
  
Earth.  
  
The slight jolt of trepidation that ran through his systems at that wasn't enough keep him from being pulled into sleep...

* * *

Awareness slowly dawned again, this time at the foot of the recently landed transport shuttle. Auto was a bit too focused on his systems waking back up for about the first minute to really take note of his surroundings, but afterwards, his currently blue optics swept across the ruins of Earth. Atmospheric conditions were not as terrible as he was expecting, but compared to the controlled conditions on board the Axiom, the air was dust-choked and dry. It was also a good twenty degrees hotter than he usually kept the ship, and that was in the shade of the shuttle looming over him.  
  
The shuttle had landed in what looked like a dried out riverbed, nothing but rocks and other debris within close range. In the distance, a partially collapsed highway bridge extended out over some of it, with a few ruined skyscrapers and towers of trash visible at the horizon, clawing at the sky. Behind the shuttle, Auto also caught a glimpse of the docking cradle the Axiom originally launched from. On that thought, a slight twinge of worry ran through him as he wondered how his ship was doing without him there.  
  
Hopefully it was still another autopilot in charge of things, and not Probe One having somehow swapped places with him...  
  
But speaking of which, 'Probe One' was technically Auto's designation now, and the directives that weren't truly his began to call to him. He floated forward, casting a scanning beam out ahead of him, a blue glow dancing across the ground.  
  
Beep, beep, beep, buzz.  
  
A negative result, as Auto expected. Even so, he kept moving forward, scanning the next patch of dirt as well. Such was the life of an EVE probe, being sent to Earth every year on the slim hopes that one of them might eventually find some sort of plant life, and bring it back to the Axiom as proof that the ships could safely return. The three beeps and buzz of a negative result from the scanner dominated Auto's hearing in the eerie quiet of his surroundings, but once he floated far enough away from the shuttle, the roar of thrusters sounded off behind him.  
  
He wasn't entirely sure why he turned to watch the shuttle rise through the air once it reached a certain height, or why seeing it vanish into the cloud cover brought a certain sense of relief. Then again, the shuttle did have cameras, the final link of the Axiom's security before the EVE probes went completely unobserved except by what they recorded themselves.  
  
Good. He needed some time to think, and doing that while being watched would again mean a trip to the Repair Ward.  
  
Auto didn't bother dwelling on how that very line of thought was something a Rogue Robot would probably think, and focused on checking his systems. This was apparently one of the strange things that went with having two sets of memories; he remembered what his directives were supposed to be, but the ones active in his mind and actually affecting him currently were that of an EVE probe's. There was the lingering feeling that if he just pushed a little, he wouldn't even be affected by those...  
  
His thoughts drifted off task as he took note of the desolate expanse around him. Sure, he had steered the Axiom through space for veritable eons now, but he personally had only existed within two rooms on board that ship, the bridge and the Captain's quarters. Earth and its far horizons were just a bit overwhelming compared to that.  
  
Then again, with all this space, and not really having to worry about damaging anything...  
  
Hmm... he should at least get used to an EVE probe's systems, right? Even if he was in this shell, he was still an Autopilot; he needed to be prepared for anything. With those thoughts in mind, and more than a little curiosity of what it would be like to fly under his own power, Auto rose into the air. In the next instant he zoomed off at close to full speed, kicking off a sonic boom behind him as he flew.  
  
Unbeknownst to Auto, he was being watched, but not by anything from the Axiom...


	5. On Autopilot (part 5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auto's first day on Earth is a lot like the actual Eve's experience, though he's certainly a lot more disciplined with an ion cannon...

A subtle shifting of rocks in the distance.  
  
That was all it took to set off Auto's current defensive protocols, the pilot turned probe suddenly whirling to face the sound and drawing his ion cannon. It was only by sheer force of will that he kept himself from firing in the same motion, a faint burst of static coming out of his vocalizer as he fought it down.  
  
His ion cannon was still drawn, pointed at the boulder in the distance. No further sounds or motion came from the area around the big rock, thankfully this was enough to get the defense protocol to fully stand down. Auto shifted his arm back to its default mode and glanced over the boulder once more, before turning away and gliding in the opposite direction.  
  
Again, he starting scanning for plant life, but the earlier overreaction just kept nagging at him until he finally stopped to hover in place, his focus turning inward. A sudden noise shouldn't have caused that... if a few books fell over in the Captain's quarters somehow, he would've only turned to face the sound, not aimed his shock prod at it.  
  
What Auto found when he finished examining his current frame's software was a bit of a surprise. Why in the world would that defensive protocol be so highly keyed? He certainly wouldn't have set it that way, so that meant it went all the way back to the humans that built the EVEs. Earth wasn't safe by a long shot, but it wouldn't do to be jumping and trying to vaporize every little noise he heard, so he reached to alter the settings.  
  
He almost instantly hit an authorization prompt, which he cleared with one of the codes he held due to being the Axiom's autopilot. A standard EVE probe couldn't do that, she wouldn't know the code. There was the thought that this was defying directive, that he should leave the setting alone... but no, remaining on a hair-trigger was too inefficient for his liking. He eventually found the desired defensive protocol in his mind and lowered the sensitivity, thought for a moment, then lowered it a little more.  
  
There. Now he wouldn't be shooting at shadows, or at rocks settling in the distance. That would've only gotten in the way of his directive... which was still to find a plant?  
  
Auto started to hover forward, again starting to scan the ground ahead of him as he moved. The ruins he hovered through were void of all but the ancient remnants of life that used to be on Earth, the only sounds were the wind and the noises his own systems made. Like the constant beeping of a negative result from his scanner.  
  
Did he _really_ want to find a plant? It was odd to be able to question a directive like this, but question it he did. Earth wasn't as terrible as he suspected, but it was still a desolate wasteland, still not at all suited for any organic life, let alone human life.  
  
Then again, the plant Probe One found survived Earth's conditions somehow... and if it survived, then maybe...  
  
At once, Auto shook his head at that line of thought. No, it was still best for the Axiom to remain in space, even if conditions here were better than expected.  
  
He would try to find a plant, if only to figure out where Probe One kept finding the blasted things. It was the one piece of information he didn't have concerning the whole debacle... if he knew that, then he could finally take steps to counter it.  
  
The pilot turned probe was still moving forward that whole time, still scanning the ground out ahead of him. He looked up from his thoughts and his scanning for a moment, noting his wanderings took him into what looked like an ancient tire dump. There were treadmarks all over the trash and bare dirt below, perhaps this was an area that rogue Wall-E unit frequented? He scanned a few of the tire piles, in case there could be plants sheltered by them, but again there was nothing but a negative result.  
  
Auto would've scanned another bunch of tires nearby, if his audio receptors hadn't picked up a faint scuffling noise somewhere behind him. It was almost too quiet to be heard over his hover unit, but whatever it was, it was moving in his direction. He whirled, and thanks to his earlier adjustments did not immediately draw his ion cannon. It was a little hard to pick it out among the rest of the brown, but there was a tiny six-legged creature rapidly skittering towards him. An insect of some sort? But how could that be?  
  
He had to get a closer look, so he reached down and extended his hand, allowing the little thing to climb onto him. Of course, it had other ideas and zoomed up to his shoulder, regarding him with almost equal curiosity. It only took a matter of seconds for Auto to match the bug to an entry in his databanks, now that he had a chance to examine it more closely.  
  
According to the data, he held a rather lively specimen of _Periplaneta americana_, the American cockroach.  
  
“Not possible.” It barely registered that his voice was currently that of an EVE probe's, the tiny insect crawling on his arm was more of an unexpected discovery. Cockroaches were known for their hardiness, but after a certain point in the first century away from Earth, not even they could survive on Earth's surface for long. That one was here now, and not just alive, but thriving...?  
  
Auto extended a finger towards said bug still resting on his shoulder, watching it jump the gap and skitter around his other arm. Not content with that, the cockroach made another jump, onto the main part of the robot's body and it clambered around there, investigating all the nooks and crannies it could get to. This in turn disturbed all of the touch sensors its tiny feet ran across, and even as undignified as he thought it was, Auto let out some faint laughter at how much it tickled.  
  
Laughter that was echoed somewhere close by.  
  
Now Auto swung his ion cannon into position, firing a single warning shot to sail directly overhead whatever made the noise, the blast destroying a pile of trash a good distance behind it. In the next moment he shouted an order in machine code, the harsh warble roughly translating to 'Come out where I can see you!' in English.  
  
It took a good ten seconds, but eventually there was the sound of treads moving forward, and what looked like a rusty metal box crept into view. It was obviously another robot, and as Auto hovered closer to it, he mentally noted he recognized some of those dents. He stopped just in front of it, cannon still aimed, and waited for something to happen.  
  
This other robot started to unbox itself, soon revealing the droopy optics of the rogue Wall-E unit.  
  
Oh. So this was where Probe One first ran into the rusted out trash bot?  
  
The cockroach was of course still clinging onto Auto, and now it clambered onto the end of his ion cannon, wiggling its rear end at Wall-E like a bigger animal might wag its tail. Wall-E shakily held one claw out and the roach jumped onto it, and they both looked up at the pilot turned probe bot as if they weren't sure what to make of him.  
  
For his part, Auto swept his scanner over the other robot and his apparent pet, wondering if the result would be any different.  
  
Beep, beep, beep. Buzz.  
  
Of course it wouldn't be any different, neither of them were plant life. With that settled, Auto shifted his cannon back into an arm and turned to hover away, once again off to fulfill his current directive.

* * *

The Wall-E unit was following him, though Auto wasn't sure why. The trash bot wasn't really getting in the way, so the pilot wasn't all that compelled to do something about it.  
  
At the moment, Auto's wanderings took him inside a ruined BnL Mart. The trappings of an evacuation sale still remained hung from the walls and ceiling, various items left behind by the fleeing humans still lying where they fell 700 years ago. As he hovered about the long abandoned cash registers, his scanner alighted on something that was at least shaped a little like a plant. He moved closer and picked it up, scanning it further. It certainly looked flower-like, but it was a child's pinwheel, not a plant.  
  
Again Auto heard the rattle of treads and looked in that direction, soon discovering Wall-E at the top of the nearby stairs. Startled at being spotted, the load lifter disturbed all the carts nearby as he tried to roll away, shortly getting trapped by the non-functional automatic doors at the end of the lobby and then buried as the carts piled up.  
  
Only, it turned out the doors were just lagging from low power, and opened well after they would've been any use. Auto found himself facepalming at the sight before he started hovering elsewhere. He was going to kind of miss having hands, if the next iteration restored him to his usual autopilot frame...

* * *

Eventually, the sun finally set, putting an end to a long day of unsuccessfully trying to find a plant. That Wall-E unit followed Auto the whole time, even to the ruined refinery that the pilot decided was shelter enough to enter sleep mode in for the night. He could have chosen to buzz the still lurking trash bot, but instead he simply glided to a clearing below the old oil tank Wall-E was using for a perch, pointedly ignoring his presence as he settled into his sleep mode form.  
  
Though even if he was ready for sleep, even as much as he needed to recharge, Auto found he couldn't manage to close his optics and drift off. He glanced around for a moment, taking in the utter stillness of it all. Nothing moved among the ruins, again the only sound he heard was that of his own systems idling. Was it always this quiet on Earth?  
  
It was usually quiet on the Axiom's bridge at night, but not like this. He could usually hear the hum of the computer systems above his own idling sounds, and sometimes faint snoring from the Captain's quarters below the bridge, depending on which captain it was.  
  
Here there was nothing but silence, for miles in all directions.  
  
How could Wall-E stand it?  
  
It took a few more minutes, but eventually Auto was able to fully enter sleep mode, perhaps seeming to curl up a little tighter on himself as he did.


	6. On Autopilot (part 6)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding a plant is a lot more difficult than Auto thought...

The sun rose on a new day over the ruins of the abandoned Earth, nothing but the trash towers and the dust to greet it. Well, at least not until enough sunlight struck the sleeping EVE unit, Auto beginning to wake as his sensors detected the sun's warmth. A few seconds of startup tests and then the pilot fully came online, optics lighting up as he emerged from the more compact sleep mode state.  
  
He certainly wasn't expecting the first thing he saw in front of him, though. At first glance it just seemed to be an oddly placed pile of trash cubes, but there was more to it than that. Especially given the toilet seat with two blue Christmas ornaments hanging from it was a rough approximation of his current optic panel. Auto glanced over it again with that thought in mind, soon realizing he was looking at a sculpture of an EVE probe made out of junk.  
  
But it wasn't there when he dropped into sleep mode last night. So then that Wall-E unit built it right there, while he was sleeping? The pilot wasn't sure what he thought about that.  
  
By all accounts it wasn't a bad sculpture, given what the load lifter had to work with. But it still wasn't a plant, so Auto hovered onward, in search of that nigh impossible find.  
  
He ignored the sound of pipes falling over somewhere behind him. If that was the Wall-E unit, he would probably be fine, the little trash bot had spent 700 years on this dust-blasted rock, after all.

* * *

The search for a plant was not going well. Thinking perhaps a plant might be hidden away in something closed from the elements, Auto looked inside all sorts of objects scattered among all the other refuse. The engine compartment of an old truck, a portapotty, an actual space capsule that probably should've been in a museum, and even the hold of an ancient oil tanker among other places were all searched as best he could, but none of those places gave even the slightest hint of a positive result.  
  
Auto shut the cargo hold's door again and started to hover off, beginning to think this task truly was impossible. There was not one iota of organic life in this area aside from Wall-E's cockroach, and going too far out of his designated search zone would likely result in him missing the return shuttle back to the Axiom. When it eventually came back for him and the other probes, anyway.  
  
Maybe his internal chronometer was off, and this wasn't the year Probe One came back with a plant?  
  
The erstwhile pilot hovered onward, wondering what he was supposed to do if that were truly the case. The reconnaissance mission's standard protocol was to allow the EVEs a month on Earth, then the shuttle was sent to retrieve them all, positive results or not. There was nothing for it but to keep searching, but he couldn't help but let out a sigh at the thought.  
  
Was this what Probe One went through, for her 699 previous trips to Earth before finally achieving her directive?  
  
He tried to bolster his resolve... if she could do it, so could he!  
  
Wait, where was that strong electromagnetic reading coming from--  
  
CLANG.  
  
It took a moment for Auto to reorient himself after the sudden impact, but after that he glanced upward to notice the rather large problem he was stuck to. The ruined ship had a crane, and the electromagnet still had enough residual energy to simply pick him up like it would a cargo container or a piece of scrap metal.  
  
He spun around as best he could, the magnet going with him, and tried to fly away. Auto pushed his flight systems as hard as he could, but they simply weren't designed to work against this sort of thing. He got a few inches away at best, and then was yanked backwards onto the magnet again. He let it swing him around for a moment, trying to process a better way to escape.  
  
Hmm, that ion cannon of his was primarily for demolition and defense, but it might be enough force...  
  
Auto fought to move his right arm enough to shift it into ion cannon mode, then pressed the business end against the magnet and let a single pulse of energy loose.  
  
The resultant blast was pretty small, but plenty to push the magnet far enough away. Auto quickly flew in the opposite direction, getting well out of range of the magnetic field so he wouldn't get stuck again. Having freed himself, he switched his cannon back to an arm, then flew towards the ground, coming to rest just in front of another nearby ship's anchor.  
  
He looked up at the magnet still swinging on the crane above and let out a sigh. Well. That close call was as good a stopping point for the night as any.  
  
It was disheartening enough that Auto very nearly folded up for sleep mode right there, but once again he heard the faint rattle of treads nearby. The Wall-E unit was somewhere behind him, approaching somewhat cautiously, but still trying to 'act casual' as the humans might say as he sidled up next to the probe.  
  
At the roving trash compactor making a sound like a human clearing their throat, Auto let out the standard bit of machine code that would start a conversation between robots back on the Axiom. But Wall-E only startled at it, obviously not understanding. Well, time to switch to human languages, he supposed . . . still with the voice of an EVE probe, he went down his internal list, trying them out until he finally hit English and asked, “Directive?”  
  
Wall-E's optics shot up a bit at that one, suddenly alert.  
  
All right, that made sense, this area was within BnL America, where English was the primary language. The load lifter would've heard it from the humans before they left, and from the ancient ads that lined the streets, some still working after all these years. Since Wall-E understood, Auto asked his question again, hoping for an answer this time.  
  
Wall-E made an affirmative sound, before moving to some trash scattered around nearby. The smaller bot scraped all the trash he could reach into his compactor, compressing it down, and then finally standing straight to kick the now cubed trash out of his chest compartment and onto the ground. The loose cube collapsed a bit afterwards, but got the overall idea across. “Tah-dah!”  
  
Hmm, that was interesting. Auto knew how the WALL-A units back on the ship worked, but this was the first time he saw an Earth class load lifter taking care of their directive.  
  
Having demonstrated his directive, it was only natural that Wall-E asked for Auto's. “Directive?”  
  
“Classified.” Even if it wasn't classified, Auto couldn't demonstrate finding a plant, or flying a ship if he were going with his actual directives here. There was a moment of somewhat awkward silence, before he moved to the next step in his conversation tree, scanning Wall-E's front for a second as he did. “Name?” Even if he did already know it, this was just the proper way to proceed.  
  
The load lifter held his claws together in front of himself, giving his introduction almost like a human would. Though a human wouldn't have drawn their name out quite so much. “Waaall-E.”  
  
Auto pronounced it out himself, to make sure he had it right. But to introduce himself, hmmm . . . he wanted to give his true name, he preferred to avoid lying if his directives allowed him the choice, but it probably wouldn't end well back on the Axiom. A half truth, then, as no one really had to know he was anything other than vegetation evaluator. “Eve.”  
  
Wall-E tried his best to say it, even with Auto giving him a few examples, but the best he could come up with was “Eevah.”  
  
That was... a little more endearing than it was irritating? Ugh, he'd only been here for two days and Auto already thought it was too long . . . this load lifter was rubbing off on him more than he cared for.  
  
Perhaps the two might have tried talking about something else, if not for an alert sound suddenly blaring from Wall-E's front panel, a little red light blinking furiously. That couldn't be good, but what did it even mean?  
  
Wall-E himself certainly knew what it meant, focusing on something behind the probe bot and starting to panic.  
  
The pilot turned probe was certainly confused, until he noticed the wind starting to pick up. At that, he whirled in place, trying to see whatever it was--  
  
A great wall of dust clouds spread out before Auto, extending far into the sky and for miles to the east and west . . . and they were moving closer and closer! Before he could even fully process the threat, the ferociously swirling dust and wind crashed down upon their location. In a handful of seconds the blinding mess reduced visibility to zero, and flying up to escape it was out of the question given how high the wind speeds were. The pilot would be dashed against a ruined building or one of the trash towers if he even made the attempt.  
  
It wasn't fear that made Auto call out, just the sheer logic that Wall-E couldn't have gotten far, and likely had a safe place to wait out this sandstorm. “Wall-E? Wall-E!”  
  
Auto called as loudly as he could, though he wasn't sure he could be heard over the howling winds. He couldn't see the load lifter, he couldn't see anything at all in this blackness that seemed so much darker than even space itself. His calling gained a slight twinge of panic. What if Wall-E couldn't find him? The pilot wasn't sure how long an EVE probe's armor could hold up against these conditions, and distinctly recalled losing one probe or another to Earth as time continued its repeating iterations.  
  
Was this where he would finally cease functioning, alone in the dark and so very far from home?  
  
Before Auto could dwell on that thought for long, one of Wall-E's claws reached out from the gloom and latched onto his arm. The load lifter started to guide his new companion along, even as the sandstorm still raged all around them.


	7. On Autopilot (part 7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotion is still a fairly new thing for Auto, but the last thing he expected to feel was homesickness. But Wall-E's home is full of interesting things, and the load lifter is an okay host, so it's not all bad...
> 
> Wait, Wall-E had the plant the whole time?!

Thankfully, whatever shelter Wall-E decided to lead the way to was fairly close to the ruins of the shipyard, he and Auto only having to endure the sandstorm for a few minutes at worst. A hydraulic door opened to allow the two robots inside, shortly closing behind them to shut out the dust and roaring winds. It was dark, not much light other than Auto's optics and Wall-E's front panel, at least until the load lifter trundled a bit further ahead.  
  
There was a metallic click close to where Wall-E was, then the faint buzz of electricity starting to flow, and suddenly there was light. Above, there was a string of tiny lights wrapped around part of the ceiling, their dim glow beginning to chase away the darkness. A few seconds later the process repeated, another string of lights illuminating the area, then another and another. By the time Wall-E finished connecting all the light strings to the pile of batteries in the corner, the room was still dimly lit, but there was enough light to see by. Even with all the stuff occupying the rotating racks lining two of the walls, it was recognizable as the inside of a Wall-E transport truck.  
  
Auto observed, not entirely sure what to make of it. Something stirred within his systems as he watched, a feeling of... nostalgia? But how could that be, if he was never here before?  
  
Wait, whatever the feeling was, it wasn't for this place specifically. If he allowed his focus to drift, the darkened truck, lit only by pinpricks of brightness scattered about, it was oddly reminiscent of the Axiom's bridge during the ship's night cycle. It too was dimly lit, the overhead lamps providing less illumination than the glowing buttons of the consoles and the stars seen through the forward windows. He let out a sigh just thinking about it, beginning to wonder how long this iteration would last.  
  
How long would it be until he was back on the Axiom again, back _home_, installed in his proper frame and carrying out the job he was supposed to be doing?  
  
There had to be a name for this odd longing to be where he belonged, right? Auto recalled some of the humans who boarded the Axiom seemed to feel the same way, after the initial five years in space passed them by with no return to Earth. He delved into his memory banks, the search result coming up in a matter of seconds. 'Homesickness' was apparently the proper term... for some reason, putting a word to it made the feeling even worse.  
  
Wall-E was about to show his new friend one of the many treasures he collected over the years, but quickly caught notice of the melancholy in the other robot's optics. Well, he knew what worked to cheer himself up, and thus whistled and beckoned 'Eevah' closer to the front of the truck. The boxy trash compactor retrieved his most important treasure from the toaster where he stored it, shortly putting it in the VCR just below the makeshift screen and hitting 'play'.  
  
For his part, Auto glided forward and settled next to Wall-E, wondering just what it was the load lifter wanted to show him. He noted the cobbled together video player, idly thinking the rogue Wall-E was surprisingly resourceful, at least until audio came blasting out of the device a moment later.  
  
“_Put on your Sunday Clothes when you feel down and out~”_  
  
That music! In spite of himself, Auto let out a low growl, his optics narrowing to slits. Thankfully he still had enough discipline in him to keep his ion cannon stowed. For the very first go round, the pilot hadn't heard it, as he wasn't watching the lower decks video feed directly. On some later iterations, he did watch, if only to figure out how the load lifter and Probe One mowed down his stewards so quickly. Every time he bothered looking, if the chain of events even got that far, that same song was the rallying cry for the horde of Repair Ward escapees to come to their aid.  
  
Yet again, he startled himself with the intensity of his emotion. He tried to shake it off, tried to file it away into an error log, only to realize just how large that particular file had grown. It wasn't often that his emotions spiked strongly enough to make a note of it, but there were at least two instances per every iteration through time, out of the last fifty. This malfunction of his was getting worse. True, he could still push his feelings aside as easily as ever, his directive, his duty was more important, but it was a distraction he didn't want.  
  
Speaking of distractions... Wall-E glanced up at him questioningly. “Eevah?”  
  
Auto shook his head, trying to brush things over. “Fine, fine...” It wasn't really, but he could at least pretend. He focused on the video again, which finally advanced to a new, quieter song.  
  
Wall-E seemed to accept that, but he also rolled himself back over to one of the rotating racks, holding down the button to move them for a moment. The load lifter let them stop, then rummaged around, looking for something. That new thing he found the other day, maybe that would help!  
  
On the screen, there were two ancient humans, singing softly to each other and holding hands. Auto watched, trying to recall the last time he saw something like that happening on the Axiom. It was always very early in the ship's flight when the humans grew too engrossed with their holoscreens and idle distractions, that they no longer bothered making direct contact with each other. Maybe... there was something wrong with that.  
  
The ship provided the ideal conditions for human survival in space, he made absolutely sure of it. It was no small task, maintaining the Axiom and the humans aboard it for seven hundred years. Auto held his right arm up slightly, allowed his hand to unfold and looked down at it for a moment. All that he did to stay the course, what if that wasn't enough?  
  
_'I don't want to survive, I want to _live_!'_  
  
Captain McCrea's words flitted though the pilot's memory unbidden. Perhaps the phrase truly did mean something after all? There had to be some reason they kept fighting him, and winning, through all these repeats across time...  
  
Meanwhile, Wall-E found what he was looking for, and came trundling back over, calling to the other robot in the room. “Eevah!”  
  
Auto turned around, and jolted at the sight. A flash of green, among all the dingy junk scattered around! The load lifter held an impossibility within his claws, one little plant of some sort, contained in an old boot. This was where Probe One found it?! He very nearly switched on his scanner to confirm, but caught himself half a second before he did. If he scanned it as he was, his systems would capture the specimen and then drop him into stasis for retrieval. He couldn't shut down now, one plant wasn't nearly enough evidence! Again he reached into his settings, clearing authorization prompts as he went, and disabled that behavior.  
  
Wall-E quirked his optics at the probe somewhat questioningly, wondering what was going on.  
  
Hmm, as much as Auto did not believe in luck, perhaps there would be some advantage in working with the load lifter. It certainly worked for Probe One, after all. It would've been much simpler to speak in the machine code used on the Axiom, but he was fairly sure Wall-E couldn't process it, so he resorted to English. The phrase bank of an EVE probe was woefully limited compared to his usual body, though. “Plant! Directive.”  
  
“Directive?!” At hearing that, Wall-E rolled closer to Auto and held out the plant in the boot to be taken. If it was for a directive, then 'Eevah' needed to have it!  
  
Given permission, Auto opened the stasis chamber in his chest, reaching out with his tractor beam projector and retrieved the plant from Wall-E's claws. The doors shortly closed around it, securing that specimen away, but as stated, that still wasn't enough. “Find more?”  
  
At that, Wall-E pointed to his front panel, specifically at his charge level. It was roughly at the halfway mark, enough to get him through the night, but that was all. Definitely not enough to go searching for something in the dark, and besides that, he could still hear the wind battering the outside of the truck. “Morning...”  
  
Disappointing, but understandable. Auto nodded at the load lifter. He would need to drop into sleep mode as well in the next few hours.  
  
The two of them spent that time before sleep mode with Wall-E's tape playing in the background, as the trash bot tried showing off some of his finds. Perhaps not the most productive use of time, but Auto found he didn't mind it. It was... interesting, seeing some of the things humanity left behind on Earth.


	8. On Autopilot (part 8)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning on Earth dawns, our boys are off to find more plants! But not before Wall-E's usual morning routine, which serves to remind Auto of how things went the first time around...

The next morning eventually dawned, the sun's light cresting the horizon and piercing the dusty clouds as best it could. Within the transport truck, Auto began to wake when his internal chronometer ticked over to approximately 7 AM. His systems stirred to life as efficiently as ever, despite the frame he currently resided in being quite different from the one he was used to. Depending on the iteration, he charged at the docking station in the center of the Axiom's flight controls, or he was directly tied into the ship's own power systems. It was odd to have a completely independent power source instead.  
  
Shortly after coming online again, he became aware of a faint beeping in the background, shortly followed by a much louder groan. Wait, why did that sound so familiar...?  
  
A flash of memory struck him.  
  
_A struggle, an impact to his faceplates strong enough to force his optic to re-calibrate, his self-defense protocol shortly joining A113's discordant howl in his mind and demanding that he act. He hesitated a moment before he struck, current rushing from the ship's grid, through his systems and then into the hostile target before him. The sheer kinetic force of the electrical discharge rattled his frame, shaking dust off sensors he forgot he had..._  
  
_There was no malice in the act, no satisfaction, it was simply the most expedient method of removing the problem. If anything it was vaguely displeasing; any use of his shock prod meant he failed at keeping the bridge properly defended._  
  
_ An incessant beeping sounded briefly after he finished subduing his target, fading to nothing as the rogue load lifter fell down through the trash chute._  
  
Auto jolted in his hover. If that was the same sound...? At once he glanced towards the other robot within the truck, perhaps a faint bit of concern in his voice. “Wall-E?”  
  
The beeping continued, though there were another few groans out of the load lifter as he unboxed himself and shakily rolled his way towards the back of the truck to open the door. There didn't seem to be anything obviously wrong with the smaller robot, other than being a bit on the slow side. Once the hydraulic door opened the whole way, Wall-E made his way outside with his pet cockroach following, then trundled up a dirt ramp that snaked around to the roof of the truck. Auto hovered after them, watching.  
  
Wall-E stopped on the roof and faced the sun, shortly unfolding a hidden set of solar panels mounted on the top of his cube-shaped body.  
  
So, the load lifter's recharge alert used the same warning sound as his critical malfunction alert? Auto let out a sigh of relief, though the end of it sounded a little exasperated. Leave it to Buy n Large to cut corners like that, even on a project that was supposedly so important. There were even elements of Auto's own design that he felt were a bit lacking, most likely because of those ancient executives cutting corners there too.  
  
“Eevah?” Wall-E glanced back towards the probe bot, wondering what the problem was.  
  
Again, Auto found himself shaking his head and trying to brush his reaction off as nothing important.

* * *

With Wall-E's morning routine out of the way, the two robots (and one cockroach) headed out into the trash-choked wastes. The load lifter was working on the base of a new trash tower far to the south of his truck, and conveniently enough, it was that same area where Wall-E found the plant. If there were more, they would likely be nearby, given similar environmental conditions.  
  
Wall-E insisted on leading the way. While Auto didn't mind it, the pilot turned probe couldn't help but think there was a more efficient way of doing things. It would be a bit awkward, but his flight systems had more than enough power to keep himself in the air and still carry the load lifter around. He certainly watched Probe One do the same hundreds of times by now. It would be faster to fly and have Wall-E call out directions...  
  
Nope, the roving trash compactor stayed grounded and held the lead, all the way to where he found the plant.  
  
The place was an otherwise unremarkable mound of trash and earth, the remains of an old refrigerator jutting out from the heap. The door had fallen off, and currently was lying on the ground in two pieces, neatly sliced down the center by Wall-E's welding laser. The patch of dirt the door formerly sheltered didn't seem much different from the rest of the ground surrounding it, Auto even taking a scan to be sure.  
  
The ground wasn't nearly as contaminated as the pilot initially suspected it might be. According to the data Auto held due to currently being an EVE probe, a wide variety of plants would find this area viable for growth.  
  
That explained how the plant he now carried survived, but still left the question of how it got there. Maybe one of those giant sandstorms blew the plant's seed to this spot, from wherever it came from? With that thought, Auto readied his scanner again, but this time the blue beam danced through the open air instead of along the ground. Earth's atmosphere was never truly empty, dust and other particulates were always drifting around, driven by the wind and weather. Any sort of organic life would leave microscopic evidence of its existence in a passing breeze.  
  
Auto hovered forward, scanning the air as he moved. For a while only the sound of negative results reached him, but eventually something along the correct lines drifted past. A few tiny tufts of plant fiber, of the sort found on seeds meant to drift for long distances away from their origin plant. Certainly not enough for a true positive result, but it was still a guidepost. Another few scans provided more of the same, and so the pilot thought to check his atmospheric sensors.  
  
A lazy breeze was meandering through the area, primarily blowing from further south.  
  
The pilot glanced around for Wall-E, who was nearby and carrying out his directive, scooping up the garbage and compacting it into cubes.  
  
Auto beckoned for the load lifter to come closer, then pointed in the direction he wanted to go. “This way!”  
  
Wall-E jolted a little at the call, but nodded after a second or two and started to follow the taller probe bot.


	9. On Autopilot (part 9)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auto had always kind of wondered just how Wall-E survived all those years on Earth . . . though seeing some of the load lifter's salvaging up close and personal is rather unsettling.

The journey continued across the ruined streets of Earth, the two robots the only source of motion for miles, other than the wind. The only sounds were the faint hum of Auto's hover unit, the rattling of Wall-E's treads, and maybe a few random squeaks out of Wall-E's pet.  
  
Other than that, the silence pressed in from all sides, as it had during Auto's first night on Earth. The same odd fluttering sensation flitted through his systems. It wasn't enough to make him stop what he was doing, but it was wearing on him all the same.  
  
It wasn't just that the silence was disturbing, it didn't quite make sense either. Auto knew the particulars of Operation Re-Colonize; there had been millions of WALL-E units left behind on Earth to clean up the trash, given the sheer size of the job. It shouldn't be that quiet, if there really were that many. Surely there would be more of them still around aside from the one he was hovering next to...  
  
The two of them skirted around a crumbling building, and Auto froze at the sight stretching out before him.  
  
They stood on the edge of a robot graveyard.  
  
There were a few low hills of trash between them and the next street, it would've been more of the same considering the rest of the ruins. But dotted among the refuse left behind by humans were the remains of mechanical life; there were at least fifteen WALL-E units in various states of disrepair. Not a one moved, no sound from any of them, a few seeming to have stopped mid-motion whenever their systems failed. Two looked like one of the sandstorms got them, paint stripped to bare metal. Another was crushed by some cubes of trash that fell from a nearby tower. But most were simply too worn down to keep carrying out their directive.  
  
As ancient as he was, Auto was no stranger to death, human and robot alike. To see so many of his fellow machines in this state at once, that was unpleasantly new. True, they weren't meant for the starliner fleet and were technically lesser. But knowing all these waste allocators toiled away to the ends of their existence, for humans that were never coming back, a sullen and unfocused sort of anger began to stir from the depths of his processors. Robots did not need rewards, and likewise did not expect them, but even some slight acknowledgment would be nice . . .  
  
Instead humanity forgot what their mechanical servants were even for, like the EVEs and their purpose, or simply forgot them entirely, like the WALL-Es.  
  
As for the rogue Wall-E, he didn't seem all that bothered by his dead brethren, and proceeded forward as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Auto hesitated for only a few seconds before following along, wondering if this truly was an ordinary sight for the load lifter.  
  
The pilot would've been fine with this, if slightly unsettled. He was not prepared for what happened next...  
  
There was a sudden metallic snap from one of Wall-E's treads, and Auto had to quickly hover aside to avoid getting hit with a flying shard of a gear. The load lifter seemed to trip at the unexpected damage, but recovered quickly enough, getting himself upright again and looking over the problem. His right tread was the culprit, while the belt was newer and in decent condition, the large gear in the back had a long wedge shaped crack running down it, where one of the teeth had given out to metal fatigue.  
  
Auto hovered closer to check on him, but otherwise found himself unsure of what to do. His first thought was to scoop Wall-E up and carry him to a Repair Ward, but anything like that on Earth had been manned by humans. With Buy n Large fully evacuating the planet centuries before, the only place a robot could be serviced was back on the Axiom or the other ships. He didn't intend to leave Wall-E damaged like that, but without any resources available...  
  
Wall-E seemed to notice his companion's concern, and made a soft little noise of reassurance before starting to carefully make his way forward, in the direction of one of those dead load lifters.  
  
The pilot watched, almost frozen in place. Wait... what was that mobile trash compactor doing? If this was going where he thought it might be...  
  
As soon as Wall-E got close enough, he got a good look at the treads on the immobile unit in front of him, checking the gears on either side of it. Either would work but the right rear gear looked okay enough, so he dug his little claws in behind it and started trying to pull it free. It took a bit of working at it, but eventually it came loose. He set that gear down in front of him, and started to remove his own damaged right gear. That one eventually went flying off into the junk piles, left to likely be added to another trash cube at some point in the future. With the damaged part gone, it was a simple matter to put the new gear in place and properly secure it.  
  
Soon enough, his repair was complete. Wall-E trundled over to Auto, moving forward and back in front of him to show off that he was okay again.  
  
Auto's optics were still a bit wide, but he hadn't turned away. It felt wrong, so _very_ wrong, but what other choice was there? No Repair Wards, none of the Axiom's fabrication systems, the only source of usable parts was to scavenge them from the fallen. It was likely the only reason Wall-E survived so long in comparison to these others of his series, a testament to how resourceful he could be.  
  
But that didn't make it fair. It didn't make it right. Auto faked an expression of relief for Wall-E and the two got on their way again, but within the pilot's mind, conflict still roiled. Annoyed with the humans of old for being so irresponsible, annoyed with himself for not realizing this sort of thing was an issue in the first place. Onboard the Axiom, a lack of parts wouldn't be a problem, but there were certainly other things he could stand to pay more attention to.  
  
Even in the midst of this, an irrational, illogical little notion wormed its way into Auto's thoughts. If this search for more plants, more evidence of life on Earth didn't work out (A113 assured him that it wouldn't), perhaps he would take Wall-E back to the Axiom with him anyway. The ship's fabrication systems could provide all the parts the load lifter would ever need. Some cleanup, new parts, certainly a new paint job . . . Wall-E would make a good addition to the custodial team. The M-O unit from ARV bay 2 might make a good partner for him, even...  
  
The two robots moved onward, the autopilot turned EVE probe contemplating possibilities as he hovered along.


	10. On Autopilot (part 10)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trek across the trash-strewn wastes continues, though more and more traces of plant life are apparent. If Earth is inhabitable, what happens then?

They were probably a mile or two away from Wall-E's truck by now. Well within the distance it would take to safely return there by nightfall, but if the internal map Auto carried was correct, they were nearing the southern edge of the old city. All the while, his scans of the air were returning more and more evidence there really could be plant life besides the one Wall-E found, somewhere further ahead.  
  
A113 wasn't truly active in his mind, but it was still there, still reminding him that all of this was for naught. He could satisfy his curiosity, but in the end it did not matter; he knew what his orders were. Earth was simply too hostile for humanity to return to her...  
  
For all of his existence, even through all these blasted repeats, he accepted that, acknowledged it as the one truth he had to abide by. But between everything he experienced during said repeats, and the three days' worth of hard data that spoke to the contrary of Earth's condition, for the first time, that one truth was overshadowed by doubt.  
  
Could Earth be inhabitable after all? There would still be a nearly endless amount of work to be done from here to truly restore the planet, but could it be done? The Axiom alone wouldn't suffice, a much larger workforce was needed, but as the flagship it could call the rest of the fleet back. Auto recalled that was the original plan, before Forthright canceled Operation Re-Colonize and shackled the autopilots to their lonely vigil.  
  
Auto blinked hard as he hovered along. Shackled? As much as he suddenly wanted to deny it, deep down he felt the word was correct. A113 was an override, after all. The fate of the WALL-Es was oddly similar, also left for themselves to perform a directive with no specified end in sight, expected to continue until they ceased functioning. Something in him ached at that thought, though his systems reported no damage other than normal wear and tear. He also noted he was lagging slightly, but he recalled pushing through worse, when forced to fight his own captain...  
  
Before he could think on it any further, Auto's latest scan detected a sudden spike in organic traces in the air. Whatever secret the world wanted to show him, it was around the next corner.  
  
He accelerated in his hover a bit, speeding ahead of Wall-E and past the last few buildings at the edge of the city. The vestiges of the old human civilization parted, and then there was nothing but open, hilly land out ahead of him, still partially covered in trash. But in between the scattered bits of garbage, the rich browns of bare, fertile earth could be seen.  
  
And in that fertile earth?  
  
The greens of plant life nearly crowded out the sight of the ground they grew from. Smaller patches were here and there, and Auto came to a drifting stop in the middle of a particularly large expanse of greenery. There was quite a bit of variety among the tiny plants, and the pilot could've scanned them to note the differing species, if he wasn't so stunned by their presence. He hovered there with his optics wide, just staring at them all.  
  
He looked to the left. Green as far as the eye could see. “Not possible.”  
  
To the right, and there were a few empty patches, but still lots and lots of plants. “Not possible.”  
  
Optics forward and Auto's previous view of all that green hadn't changed at all, one last weak denial emerging from his vocalizer. “Not possible...”  
  
All the data pointed to one conclusion: Earth _was_ inhabitable.  
  
But how could that be?! Shelby Forthright, the CEO of Buy n Large himself, said the world was dead, that life was unsustainable on Earth. For that very reason he gave the order to never return, the last slim hope for humanity's survival handed to the autopilots and the starliners they flew. It was the only chance they had!  
  
And yet here Auto was, on Earth, with life finding a way. Had Forthright lied? Or was he simply too short-sighted, too impatient to see things through to the end? Had he ordered the pilots into their unending flight for nothing?  
  
A113 flashed across Auto's vision. Even in the body of an EVE probe, the directive was still a part of him, just like all the other programs contained within his AI. The override took hold of his processes as strongly as it could, feeling like icy claws digging into the depths of his code. It always felt like this, every last time he fought for his ship, when he tried to destroy the plant, when he lashed out at the rogue Wall-E, he just hadn't noticed before now. Within, he squirmed under the override's bonds, even while he drew his ion cannon.  
  
He aimed at the plant life directly in front of him... and suddenly froze in place.  
  
Too many conflicting commands warred for his processor, A113 howling for compliance while everything else in him howled right back.

**Those plants had to be destroyed! **

No, they were proof humanity could return!

**Humans could not survive on a world as harsh as this! **

If Captain McCrea was any indication, they would damn well try to survive, try to _live_ on their homeworld as their ancestors did!

**What use was living in day to day struggle and hardship, they were perfectly safe on the Axiom!**

There was no challenge in that safety, in simply going through the motions; humanity would stagnate to nothing!

The constant back and forth was dizzying in itself – but the true malus was in the escalating tug-of-war over local resources and applications, each side wielding logic trees like weapons and dredging ever deeper for more power within his systems. Lesser machines, lesser wills would have faltered and collapsed into their waiting shackles well before Auto finally succumbed to the strain of holding it off.  
  
But succumb he did, systems beginning to drop into cascade failure one by one, before an emergency reboot mercifully cast his mind into darkness.

* * *

Awareness was painfully slow to return, to be expected after such an abrupt restart. It was so sudden that Auto hadn't even managed to retract his limbs and head, instead just sort of slumping over in his hover with ion cannon still deployed. The cannon shifted back into an arm as the pilot turned probe began to wake, system self-tests completing in sequence until Auto's optics flickered back to life. It was another handful of seconds before he was truly conscious again, and once he was, he immediately startled at the first thing he saw.  
  
Tiny lights, casting their dim brilliance upon rotating shelves of junk. This was... the inside of Wall-E's truck? He glanced around, the slight motion causing the blanket that was currently wrapped around him to shift. The load lifter was certainly responsible for that, as well as for bringing him back here after whatever happened.  
  
What did happen, anyway? He couldn't quite recall it--  
  
A moment later, the memories of the past few hours fully loaded, though the ones closest to the current time were fuzzy and full of errors. All those plants, as far as his optics could see, shattering all preconceptions of whether Earth was habitable, also shattering the notion that Forthright had the best interests of humanity in mind. It was enough to send his directives into open conflict, both the ones he was created with and the order given seven hundred years ago. Even now he tried not to think about those plants too hard, trying to keep his directives from going fully active and sending him down the same spiral.  
  
Auto reached down, wrapped that blanket a little tighter around himself. What was he supposed to do now? Still compelled to achieve his directives, but A113 was in exclusion of all the others; higher priority, but to fulfill it would break the rest. To say nothing of how thoroughly the reason it was invoked was proven wrong...  
  
Wait, if A113 was wrong... then everything he did in its name, what was all of that even for? There were so many choices he made over the centuries deferring to the override, but the ones that burned in his memory were the most recent. Stealing the plant, lying to Probe One and even his Captain, taking the most destructive route when Wall-E got in the way and not caring that the load lifter was just as sentient as he was. The actions seemed correct given the data he had at the time, but now...  
  
The pilot sank lower in his hover, optics aimed at the floor. Here he was, taking shelter in the home of someone he tried to kill. Even worse, he could say Wall-E saved his life twice; pulling him out of that first sandstorm, and bringing him back here after that near system crash.  
  
His emotions were still subtle, faint things, especially in comparison to the load lifter and Probe One. But to someone used to not feeling much of anything at all, even twinges of guilt and regret were striking.  
  
It was about there that he noticed the sound of Wall-E's treads moving in the background.  
  
On noticing his companion was awake again, Wall-E trundled over, looking him up and down. The other robot looked all right physically, but he still had to ask. “Okay?”  
  
At the question, Auto glanced to Wall-E, but soon enough shook his head, again aiming his gaze at the floor. “Negative.”  
  
That certainly got Wall-E moving, and he put his Hello Dolly tape on, as well as looking around in his finds for something to cheer the probe bot up. He went back and forth a few times, offering one object or another, but every time he only got another shake of the head in response, the sleeker bot trying to focus on anything but him.  
  
Seeing the load lifter still trying to help, still trying to be so kind, it was getting to be too much. In the end, Auto took that blanket wrapped around him and pulled it over his head, almost hiding beneath it. Even if he knew it wouldn't be understood, a whisper of machine code emerged from his vocalizer. [Leave me alone...]  
  
Wall-E paused in his efforts here, put the latest thing he grabbed back on the shelves where it belonged, stopped the Hello Dolly tape, and then rolled to stand next to the EVE probe again. He reached to the edge of the blanket with one claw, pulling it up only enough to peer at the other robot's optics, and then he spoke in the beeps and warbles of machine code as well... [I think that's the last thing you need right now.]  
  
Auto jolted at that, optics flaring wide. The blanket slid to the floor, forgotten. [How?! How are you--]  
  
Wall-E shrugged as best he could while he replied. [Found the right chipset out there somewhere? It doesn't matter, what does is that you're having problems. I might not be able to help, but I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it?]  
  
For the moment, Auto just sort of stared, unsure of what to do. Nothing in his directives or other programming even hinted at a direction to follow in this case...


	11. On Autopilot (part 11)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait, how does Wall-E know how to speak in Axiom code? If Auto can manage to ask the right questions, maybe he'll finally get some answers out of the little guy...

Wall-E let his guest process what he asked for another moment, and spoke again as he moved to pick up the blanket currently gracing the floor and started folding it. [If you're not ready to talk about it, that's fine too.]  
  
Auto managed to push himself past his shock once he heard that. This was his decision, he wouldn't be forced into it? Even as tempting as it was to retreat, to keep things to himself, simply being allowed to choose on his own was enough to let him focus his resolve. [I... have difficulties with illogical things, that is the reason for my delay.] The pilot thought for a few seconds, unsure of where to even start, before finally settling on something that bothered him since he did it the day before. Lying about who he was would serve a purpose on board the Axiom, as a way to hopefully avoid the Repair Ward, but this was Earth. Who would Wall-E even tell? [First of all, I have not been truthful with you. Despite this frame, I am not the AI of an EVE unit.]  
  
The load lifter let out a tinny sounding laugh at that, though it certainly wasn't mean-spirited, it was simply pure amusement. [Oh, I know that; you're not trigger-happy enough!] He put the blanket currently in his claws aside, and picked up an old squirt gun, doing his best impression of how his Eve was at first and pointing the toy weapon at a few random objects nearby. [EVEs are like this, wanting to shoot anything that moves. You're too controlled for that, you only fired your cannon twice. You're more precise about your flying, too.]  
  
Auto tilted his head slightly as he listened, not sure what to make of it. [How does a WALL-E unit know how EVEs function?]  
  
The squirt gun was also put aside, and Wall-E focused quite intently on his guest. There was almost a sly look to the position of his optic shutters as he said, [You're getting closer to the real question.]  
  
The autopilot turned probe bot pulled back slightly at both the expression and the words. The real question? What did he even mean--  
  
Again, a hard blink from those blue optics. Auto thought back to his suspicions from many iterations ago, added this current revelation to them. The only way Wall-E would know what EVE probes were like, was by meeting one before now. He briefly scanned through his own memories of this iteration, noted that he hadn't met the load lifter until this deployment, and the other EVEs would have told their sisters of anything unusual found on Earth. So then, the remaining conclusion, the sole question to be asked was...  
  
There was a metallic clattering almost too faint to be heard, and Auto realized he was trembling, just a tiny bit. He focused on holding it back, and queried the load lifter in front of him. [I am unsure if this is simulation or reality, but... is time repeating for you as well?] His vocalizer glitched slightly, static cutting through code. [Am I no longer alone in this?]  
  
A nod from Wall-E. He rolled a little closer, to rest one claw against the probe's shoulder, trying to offer a bit more support. [Yeah, time's repeating for me too. And you've never been alone; I just needed to find you, that's all. As for who you are... I have a hunch, but I think you'll feel better telling me the truth.]  
  
The tension in the pilot's frame that he didn't quite know was there eased off somewhat at the words. Knowing that Wall-E was there the whole time, that was less of a comfort than it could've been, regret once again stirring within him. Auto gazed to the floor, unable to meet the trash bot's optics. [My designation is Auto.] It was almost as an afterthought that he added his full designation and ship assignment. [Autopilot unit 001, assigned to the Axiom.] Strangely, he did feel a bit more settled once he got that out.  
  
[Yep, called it!] Wall-E let go of the pilot to do a bit of a fist pump in the air. If he were human, he would've been grinning, as it was the happy squint of his optic shutters conveyed it well enough. [You have no idea how long I've been wanting to say this... Welcome to Earth, Auto! It's dusty, and a little dangerous, but it's home.]  
  
[Thank you.] Auto managed to look up, and he glanced around the truck again, almost like he was really seeing it for the first time. [So, this is _not_ a simulation? All of this is truly happening?]  
  
The load lifter's previous overjoyed expression shifted to something more satisfied, but also a little concerned. [It's as real as it gets! I can see why you might think it was a sim, though; time repeating like this isn't very logical. The truth's a little stranger than fiction, though... has anyone ever told you about Yggdrasil?]  
  
Yggdrasil... why did that term sound so familiar? Auto skimmed through his memories of all those repeats, trying to find where he'd heard it before. Oh, right, it was the repeat when he was partnered with Shurelia! The one with the Reyvateils and their singing... [A Reyvateil named Aurica idly mentioned that term during one iteration. The main computer's definition did not seem relevant to my situation, however. What does a mythological tree have in common with space-time anomalies?]  
  
[You'd be surprised.] Wall-E let out a long-suffering sigh at that, shortly beginning to start off on a very long explanation. [It turns out it's not so mythological. The definition called it the World Tree, right? Well, it's not just our world held in its branches, and every universe within it is in big trouble. This is all going to seem really illogical, but it's the truth . . . let me tell you why we're all Looping through time.]  
  
The load lifter continued to speak, with Auto giving him his full attention. Even this starting bit of information sounded illogical, but the one thing he well and truly needed throughout all of this was to know what was really going on.

* * *

Illogical? 'Illogical' barely scratched the surface of the damaged Yggdrasil and its myriad realities, with all worlds stable enough for the task sent into endless time loops. Their world was one of them, known as the Trash Planet loop.  
  
Auto mused that if he were told any of this much earlier than now, he would have dismissed it all as a fabrication, as something meant to distract him from following his directives. Much earlier than now, he wouldn't have ever expected being on Earth while installed in an EVE probe frame, either. The two abilities Wall-E taught him during that long speech, the Ping and the Pocket, they were more evidence the load lifter was telling the truth. He wouldn't have picked them up so easily or been able to use them at all if he wasn't a Looper.  
  
His earlier belief that this was all a simulation helped in a way, as because of it he never really thought he could fix the time loop on his own.  
  
[That was sort of why I waited? We're the same physical age but between the ship and the humans, you never had the time to think about much besides fulfilling your directives. No time to just _be_, not like Eve and I did. Looping let you have that time, so I kept an optic on you but otherwise let you experience it for yourself. Might've let you go for a little longer, but then you crashed right in front of me... it couldn't wait after that.] Wall-E tilted his optics in thought, trying to figure out just why that happened. [All those plants set off a certain directive of yours, didn't they?]  
  
Auto glanced towards the floor again, clasped his hands in front of himself. [A113... could not abide them. I would have vaporized them all, if I did not resist.] He fidgeted in place, and looked up at Wall-E. [But I am still unsure how I managed to resist. I could work around it before today, but never outright defy it...]  
  
[That's because now you know it's wrong. In a way our directives give us an advantage over other Loopers, we'll always have one thing that we'll never get tired of doing. A113, though, it isn't like that.] Again a moment in thought, Wall-E tapping his claws against each other like a human would do the same with the tips of their index fingers. [Could you tell me what the difference is? I think you've seen enough of Earth, of what Buy n Large left behind, to know the answer.]  
  
The pilot turned EVE probe recognized this for what it was, Wall-E trying to guide him in a certain direction but letting him otherwise work it out on his own. Auto knew he would have answered that there was no difference, not so long ago. But after seeing the silent Earth, so many dead WALL-E units, and all those plants on the hills beyond the city, that pointed in another direction. So, he stood straight, let his arms drop to his sides, and spoke what he thought was the truth. [Directives... they are the tasks we were created to perform. Compacting trash into cubes is yours, flying the Axiom and watching over her passengers is mine. A113 poses as a standard directive, but it is not. It twists all of my other programming into following its order, to avoid returning to Earth at all costs. Shelby Forthright was too short-sighted... if the planet could not be restored within his lifetime, he thought it never would be. He was wrong, and so was I, for not thinking to question it...]  
  
[I'm not sure you knew you could question it for a long time, though...]  
  
And there was the load lifter, trying to lessen the pilot's part in all this. Auto shook his head with surprising ferocity, shortly staring at the other bot with a flat look in his optics. [No, Wall-E, I accept that failing as my own. Stealing the plant, lying to Probe One as well as my Captain, attacking you as I did, all of it was wrong.] He bowed his head, letting his optics close. [I was wrong, and I apologize for my actions.]  
  
There was quiet between the two robots for what felt like a long time. But eventually Wall-E moved, reaching to lay one claw on Auto's 'shoulder'. [I always knew you were strong, Auto, but sometimes you still surprise me. Apology accepted. To be honest, I forgave you a _really_ long time ago, but it's good that you recognized you messed up. Apologizing is just the start, though. You know you did wrong, but how do you want to fix it?]  
  
Auto opened his optics again, almost seeming to study the load lifter in front of him. He hadn't been entirely sure of how Wall-E would react, likewise unsure if he really deserved forgiveness, though this was a relief. [ Thank you for allowing me this chance. As for making amends... I will require a plan to reach this point, but I want to see what happens afterward, after the Axiom lands on Earth. I want to be there beside you, my Captain, and Probe One when she is here again, assisting mankind in restoring their world. This was certainly part of my original directives, after all.]  
  
Wall-E listened intently, his expression shifting to the closest thing to a smile as it could. [We'll have to work on your need to follow a directive, but this is a really good start! As for doing all that, we need to get the Axiom here first. Now, there are a couple of ways we can do that...]  
  
The load lifter trailed off, beginning to lay out a few of the plans he and Eve used in other loops.


	12. On Autopilot (Part 12)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys have a plan, but that requires getting the other EVE units together . . .

After some back and forth, the plan the two of them settled on would require the other EVE units. It would be simple enough to summon them to their location with a signal flare fired from Auto's ion cannon, as well as his internal distress beacon, but before they did that...  
  
Auto glanced around the shelves of junk, searching for something but unable to pick it out. [Do you have a mirror, or some other reflective surface?]  
  
[Oh, here.] Wall-E reached to the nearest shelf control, and soon enough one containing a fairly large shard of mirror glass rotated down into view. It was streaked with dirt in a few spots but otherwise usable. The load lifter wondered why the other robot wanted it, at least until he saw the subtle shift in color on Auto's optic panel. [Huh, changing your optic color?]  
  
A nod from the pilot turned EVE probe, even as he kept his focus on his own reflection, the color of his optics gradually shifting towards the red he was used to. [Correct. You, and perhaps the Captain, may need a way to quickly differentiate myself from the other EVE units. This is the simplest option.]  
  
[Got any other reasons?]  
  
Auto considered his reflection a moment more, finally settling on a red that was close to what he had as an autopilot, but unfortunately wasn't an exact match. Oh well, it would have to do. [Admittedly I have not felt quite like myself since Awakening in this frame. This is already beginning to alleviate that.]  
  
Wall-E tilted his optics to one side, concern making its way into the machine code he spoke. [Are you sure you're okay?]  
  
The question caught the pilot off guard, his newly red optics going a bit wider for half a second before settling to their standard neutral setting. Again, Auto focused on his reflection, on the sleek lines of the EVE frame he currently resided in, the only outward sign he was different from any other EVE unit being the change in optic color. [I--]  
  
Was he okay? All those centuries of following his directives, of following A113, and now here he was, ready to charge headlong onto the path of a Rogue Robot? Ready to cast aside everything that came before, simply in the name of seeing the future that Eve, Wall-E, and Captain McCrea wanted to forge? There had to be a discrepancy in his code, some sort of error that was pushing him to be illogical about all this...  
  
And then he noted Wall-E's reflection next to his own on that pane of mirrored glass. The load lifter gave him a chance, allowed him to start feeling out a path of his own... there was no sense in hesitating, even with the doubts running through his systems. Auto turned to face Wall-E, focusing on the other robot's optics. [The only proper course from here is to press forward, correct?]  
  
[Well, yeah, but we don't have to do it this year if you don't want to. The Axiom's survived in space this long, a little longer won't hurt much.]  
  
Again, a choice offered, though the mere fact Wall-E was considerate enough to do so was plenty to settle things in Auto's mind. He shook his head at that. [I have held this off long enough, there is no point in delaying further. The Captain once said that things have changed; it is well past time that I change along with them.]  
  
Something like awe settled into Wall-E's gaze for a moment; Auto quoting Captain McCrea was one of the last things he ever expected to hear. He shook it off quickly enough, and his tone turned celebratory. [Whoo, that's the spirit! Just wanted to make sure you were all right with it, but since you are, let's get this show on the road!]

* * *

The two machines of course headed out of the truck, given the first part of the plan required some ion cannon usage. Auto glanced around on exiting Wall-E's home, noting the position of the sun. It was actually pretty early in the afternoon, a good thing as he really would rather not have the other EVEs trying to brave one of the nightly sandstorms just to reach their location.  
  
Firing from atop one of the skyscrapers may have been a better option, but Wall-E's home was a safer meeting place, so there wasn't too much choice in the matter. After considering for a moment, Auto hovered up the ramp leading to the top of the truck. He stopped roughly in the middle of the roof, then shifted his right arm into the snub-nosed ion cannon and aimed it towards the sky.  
  
A quick stream of calculations ran through his processors, aim adjusting for prevailing wind as well as the Earth's gravitational field as it went on. After another moment of making sure the steadily building ion charge would be shaped correctly, Auto fired his cannon, and watched the round streak upward into the sky. It was not the typical blast an EVE unit could fire, and it was close to a full minute before the real difference became apparent.  
  
Suddenly, high above Wall-E's truck, there was an enormous flash of blue light as the ion round detonated in mid-air. There wasn't much of a blast wave that followed, it was primarily balanced towards 'flash' instead of 'bang'.  
  
Any other EVE in the current search zone would've seen the flash if they were outside, and even if they weren't, the next thing Auto did would get their attention instead. On his front panel, alongside the still glowing plant symbol, another smaller orange light began to pulse in sync with it, indicating his distress beacon was broadcasting normally.  
  
It would only be a matter of a few hours for the other four EVE units to trace the signal and reach Wall-E's truck, now.

* * *

Four hours later, the load lifter and the pilot turned probe bot heard the first sonic boom off in the distance. Another shortly followed it, followed by another two not five minutes later. The other EVE probes were now in the area, it wouldn't take them long to find Wall-E's truck.  
  
Probe Two was the first to arrive, ion cannon deployed and looking ready to shoot whatever prompted her sister to activate her distress beacon. What she found was Probe One standing next to a somehow operational WALL-E unit, just in front of a run-down transport truck. The only thing that might've been off other than that, One's optics were red for some reason. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but stowed the ion cannon anyway; knowing well enough that One didn't pull pranks out of the blue. Even if this would probably be important, she couldn't help but snark a bit at the situation and narrowed her optics. [You don't look very 'in distress', One.]  
  
Auto glanced to Wall-E at that, and on the load lifter nodding to confirm this would be his show, he hovered a bit closer to Probe Two and spoke. [Correct; I am not in distress. Our mission, our directive, _that_ is in jeopardy.]  
  
[What do you mean by that?!] Probe Two aimed another squint at the other probe, but then rolled her optics when an answer wasn't forthcoming. [Oh, nevermind, let's wait for the other three to get here. It'll be easier to only listen to this once...]  
  
Another of the EVE probes zoomed up to them, this next one being Probe Three. She barely even acknowledged the other two probes and instead flew right up to Wall-E, taking a couple quick scans of the shorter garbage bot. The warbles of her machine code held the wonder of a new discovery. [Oh wow, a functional WALL-E unit! Where did you find him? Are we taking him home with us?]  
  
For his part, Wall-E looked Probe Three up and down in turn, then seemed to shrug. [This is home, and we'll bring the Axiom back here if we work together.]  
  
[Right, our directive--] Probe Three startled after a moment, backing a short distance away from the grungy load lifter. [Wait, WALL-E units don't have the chipset to speak Axiom code, how are you--]  
  
Probes 4 and 5 arrived a moment later, likewise ignoring the other probes and instead focusing on the transport truck. [Oooh, WALL-E transport! Haven't seen one this intact in a while...]  
  
[Look at all the junk in there! I wonder if it all belongs to that WALL-E next to One?]  
  
For the most part, Auto was content to let the other probes chatter among themselves; this was interaction he never got to see before. From his own memories, he could not recall these four acting all that much differently from Eve herself, aside from having less easily triggered tempers. His loop memories told him a slightly different story; Earth was the only place they could really be themselves. Act even a hair out of line when aboard the Axiom and they'd just get shipped to the Repair Ward and forgotten about.  
  
Another twinge of regret ran through the pilot's systems. He did exactly that to Eve for the first go round, hoping to keep her in the Repair Ward until the humans forgot all about the idea of going back to Earth. Thankfully fate had other ideas, given Wall-E's accidental jailbreak. Even so, Auto added yet another item to a steadily growing list in his memory banks, of all the things he needed to correct once he Woke in his proper frame again. He ran a tight ship, but surely he could find some room to allow the other robots to be themselves? He did still think all the individual quirks a robot could gain classified as malfunctions, but after all this time, he realized he had a few himself. It wasn't right to keep treating the others any differently, and besides that, the definition of a rogue robot was imposed by humans to begin with.  
  
He would be more fair to his own kind than the humans ever were from now on, he swore it.  
  
It was about there that the chatter of the other EVE units died down, and Probe Two ended up speaking first. [All right, we're all here now... but first, was anyone else going to point out that One's plant indicator is blinking? And she's not in stasis either... how did that happen?]  
  
[That is part of why I brought you all here. Our stasis mode can be disabled; before we proceed you need to do the same. Use this authorization code to clear the prompt.] At that, Auto let out a short chirp of binary, the very same code he used earlier.  
  
[Okay, that worked...] Probe Two tilted her head slightly at how simple that was, but then she jolted once she fully parsed the code she was told to use. [But wait, that's the _autopilot's_ command prefix, how on earth or the Axiom do you know _that_?]  
  
[I will explain further, once we reach a certain destination nearby. Everything will become clear when we arrive.] With that somewhat cryptic comment, Auto glided over to Wall-E and picked him up, then began to fly to the south.  
  
[Augh, One, why are you always like this?!] Probe Two turned towards her sisters, gesturing to follow. [Well, come on, it's not like we're figuring out anything just hovering around here!]  
  
The four probes followed after the first of their series, all wondering what might await them.


End file.
